The actor – who plays survivor Eugene Porter on the popular zombie drama – offered no explanation for the sudden removal of his Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts.

Although McDermitt has shied away from giving a reason for his decision, he has received death threats and online abuse in recent weeks, with some viewers at home directing their fury at the poor actor after his (fictional) character Eugene betrayed Rick Grimes and defected to Negan.

In a video shared on the night of the season seven finale, which saw Eugene prove his loyalty by openly declaring that he was definitely Negan, McDermitt said he had no time for death threats.

"Don't send me death threats, because I will report all that shit to the cops," he said. "I'm just sick of it.

"You can hate Eugene, I don't care. You can think whatever you want. But when you start saying you hope I die, I don't know if you're talking about Josh or Eugene. I gotta report that shit, so, just don't be an asshole.

"And just stop complaining. Just stop complaining about everything on the internet. Just go spend time with your family or friends or loved ones. Just get off the internet.